Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) said today it has made two gas discoveries off the coast of Borneo island, as the national oil firm makes a greater push for domestic exploration to shore up flagging output.

Petronas made the two gas discoveries in Kasawari and NC8SW fields off the coast of Sarawak on Borneo island, a few months after the state oil firm had a “significant” oil discovery in neighbouring Sabah state.

Initial estimates put the gas in place for the Kasawari field at over five trillion standard cubic feet with an estimated recoverable hydrocarbon resources of just over three trillion standard cubic feet, Petronas said.

NC8SW, which is located some 17k m south of Kasawari, possessed an estimated recoverable resource of more than 450 billion standard cubic feet of gas.

“For 2012, Petronas and its production sharing contractors are planning to drill 30 exploration wells to further enhance the prospect of Malaysia’s basins,” said Petronas in a statement.

- Reuters